Giving What We Can is Sponsoring 2021 Charity Elections

Giving What We Can is happy to announce that we are able to sponsor up to 20 schools who apply to run a charity election in 2021! This post contains basic information about the program, including the perspectives of past participants. To learn more, view our charity elections page.

In The Power of Meaning, positive psychologist Emily Esfahani Smith writes about the power each one of us has to build and lead meaningful lives. This power is the basic idea motivating the charity election program, a school-wide event in which high schoolers vote among three charities to decide which will receive up to $2,000 in sponsored funds.

Charity Election Program: Student Perspectives

As a student-led program, charity elections are organised by student leaders, and only students are eligible to vote. Each vote results in an additional $2 donation, and student leaders receive service leadership certificates and create a memorable and meaningful voting and learning experience for their school community. The Balcatta Senior High School student leaders published an article about their event, and the EXPLO at Yale student leaders created an Instagram page. Selected quotes from students participating in past events are listed below.

Photos From Previous Events

Further Information

For an overview of the program and a link to the sponsorship application, please see our charity elections page.

Thanks for reading about the program! Feel free to contact us at charityelections@givingwhatwecan.org if you'd like more information or are interested in running an event.